Registering punch



June 3, 1947. R. M. HAFF REGISTERING PUNCH Filed Sept. 29, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Flat.

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June 3, 1947. R. M. HAFF REGISTERING PUNCH Filed Sept. 29, 1944 3Sheets-Shea":

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June 3, 1947. R. M. HAFF REGISTERING PUNCH Filed Sept. 29, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Q L l w a r mm ifi w 6 Patented June 3, 1947 REGISTERINGPUNCH Richard M. Hafl, Binghamton, N. Y., asslgnor to General Aniline &Film Corporation, 'New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication September 29, 1944, Serial No. 556,325

12 Claims.

This application concerns an invention in a punch for perforatingnegatives during the registration of them as is commonly practiced incertain types of color photography. In the production of colorphotographs by the so-called color separation negative process, aplurality of negatives are employed and each of those negatives isprinted with its own particular color of light. A special printing frameis employed for the purpose and that printing frame is provided withprojectin pins or other projecting means for retaining the printingpaper and each of the negatives in proper position so that the, image oneach of these negatives may be printed in exact registry with thatprinted on each of the other negatives in the group. In my copendingapplication Serial No, 533,859, filed May 3, 1944, a printing frame hasbeen disclosed such as might advantageously be used for printing colorseparation negatives. That particular printing frame is alsoprovided-with means for perforating the negatives in registry. In usinga punch of the type herein disclosed and claimed, it is not necessary toregister or punch the negatives as in the application above identified.The frame may serve to print only.

According to the system herein to be described, when each of the colorseparation negatives is made, a series of indicating marks, generallyreferred to hereinafter as registering or locating marks or indicia, arephotographed or otherwise caused to appear on the negative in such amanner that they bear an identical dimensional relationship to thephotographed or printed image on each of the series of negatives. In theevent the negatives are prepared by photographinga subject, one or morestrips of paper having thereon one or more crosses or other suitablemarks are so positioned that they will be photographed closely adjacentthe edge or margin of the negative. If the separation negatives areprepared from another negative, the same general scheme is applied, thatis, the negative or photographic transparency from which the separationnegatives are made is provided with similar indicat ing marks adjacentthe margin and properly located so as to actas a guide for perforatingthe separation negatives so that they may conveniently and accuratelyengage the projecting pins on the printing frame. I v

i The subject matter of this application actually involves a punch forperforating the negatives at those indicating marks photographedthereon. The punch is especially adapted to this purpose in that it hasprovision for first clamping 7 2 the negative and thereafter, uponfurther movement of the operating handle, will perforate'that negativeat the properly positioned indicating mark. In addition to theconvenience and certainty with which this punch is adapted to beoperated, it incorporates an optical magnifying instrument by which theindicating mark may be viewed and centered properly with respect to thecenter of the punch and die. The magnifying means for viewing the markis also so constructed as to allow observation of the centered markuntil the negative is clamped in position for perforating and alsoduring the actual punching or perforating thereof.

The invention is herein described by reference to one specificembodiment thereof, and by reference to the accompanying figures ofdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the punch.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken through the punch.

Fig. 3 is a section taken at line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section taken at line 44, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a negative punched at each end of one marginthereof.

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of one corner of a negative such as shown inFig. 5, showing-the indic'ating marks before perforating,

Fi 7 is a. section taken at line 1-1, Fig. 2.

Now referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the punch in the preferred embodimentherein disclosed is built up about a frame member and a verticallyslideable tube. The frame member, generally indicated by numeral ID, hasa circular tube guiding portion H, an upright handle or support l2, andbase l3. The base is provided with three or more rubber pads H on whichit is adapted torest, and has its top surface ground or otherwisemachined to present a smooth, flattened surface against which the'negative or other material to be perforated may be placed. The base I3has cooperating therewith a clamping member I 5 hinged at It andadapted, when forced downwardly, to clamp or frictionally retain thenegative in position to be perforated. Referring to Fig. 3, the uprightor handle. portion [2 of the frame widens outwardly at the pivot it toserve as a bearing for that element. The clamping member [5 is forked toengage at either side of the central, pivotal support and, of course,the

pivot itself may be fixed against endwise movement. Preferably. it isfixed in one or the other of the elements 12- or IE. It may merely havea relatively tight fit in one or the other, or may be retained inposition by a pin or set screw.

Member I5 is normally urged upwardly by a spring or springs retainedwithin drilled holes in the member I5 and in the base I3. The base has adie opening l8 into which the die member of the punch is adapted to fit.The clamping member l5 has a hole IS in alignment with the die openingl8 but relatively larger in diameter and through which the die projects.

The die and magnifying means constitute a unitary structure whenassembled and are adapted to slide vertically as guided by the circularportion H of the frame casting. That casting is bored out centrally ofthe guiding portion H and centrally of the die opening l8. In otherwords, the bore of the frame casting within which the verticallyslidable tube is adapted to be moved, is concentric with the die openingIS. The tube 20 is a slidable fit within the bore of the casting and hasthreaded at its lower end the die or punch 2| of reduced diametercompared to the tube 20. At its lower end, it engages as a die withinthe opening I8. That end of the tube 2| is accordingly ground as acutting instrument for cooperation within the opening l8.

While it might be suflicient to view the indicia or marks on thenegative with the naked eye, especially when the punch is lighted frombeneath the die opening l8, it is preferable that they be magnified.That makes it possible to obtain considerably more accuracy in centeringthe perforating mechanism for the purpose described,

one particular magnifying device is herein shown comprising as oneelement, an achromatic lens or objective mounted in a suitable holder26, threaded or otherwise retained at the lower end of the tube 20. Thelens 25 may be cemented into the holder 26 or may be clamped therein bya threaded retaining ring (not shown).

At the top of the tube 20 is slidably held a tube or sleeve 21. Thissleeve mounts an eye piece 28, plano-convex lenses 29 and 29', and aplane glass 30' having cross hair lines etched or otherwise formedthereon. The optical system of the instrument may vary in respects solong as the general principle of the invention is observed. It is, ineffect the optical system of a low power microscope.

Movement of the sleeve 21 within the tube 20 makes it possible to focusthe instrument. The sleeve is frictionally held in an adjusted position.

For actuating the punch, a forked arm or lever 30 is pivoted at 3|within a slot in the vertically extended handle member l2. The lowerpart of that member 30 extends down within the opening in the verticalsupport member and is adapted to be gripped and squeezed toward thehandle l2 thereby pushing the tube 20 downwardly against springshereinafter to be described. The force is transmitted by forked ends ofthe handle 30 engaged above a collar 3| which is shrunk onto the tube20, or in any other manner fixed thereon to resist the force employed inmoving the tube downwardly. A leaf spring 32 urges the handle 30 in onedirection as indicated in the figures of drawing.

The tube 20 and all attached parts are retained in elevated position bymeans of a spring 33 which abuts against the lower side of the enlargedpart of die member 2| and the upper surface of clamping member l5, and,of course, spring IT. The relative strength of springs I1, 32 and 33 isimportant. Spring H, or a plurality of such springs if a single one isinsufficient, must possess necessary strength to raise clamping memberl5, tube 20 and its attached parts and to swing the lever 30 against thetension of spring 32 until the upper face of that portion of die 2|which is threaded to the lower end of tube 20 stops against theunderside of the adjacent portion of the frame. 0! course, in addition,the strength of the spring or springs should be sufllcient to cause aslight resistance to be offered to the movement of the operating handle30. The spring 33 should be relatively stronger than spring I! so thatupon downward movement of the tube 20, there shall be practically nodeflection of spring 33 until after spring Il has compressed allowingthe clamping member I5 to descend into contact with the negative orother material to be punched. Of course, spring 33 must have greaterrelative strength than spring 12 so that when moved upwardly, spring 33is compressed slightly, if at all, while spring 32 should be capable ofbeing flexed rather easily. After the negative is clamped, furtherpressure on the operating handle 30 should continue to move the tube 20downwardly until the die member 2| engages the material to beperforated, and until it actually enters within the die l8 perforatingthe material and pushing the circular punching out through that opening.Spring 33 should not be unduly strong since it is desired to keep at aminimum the force to be applied at the operating handle. 7

The size of the die II is preferably as small as practicable withoutconstricting the opening therein to an extent which would interfere withthe observation of the marks on the negative.

The handle l2 and lever 30 exemplify one means by which the tube 20 andthe die may be projected downwardly to perforate the negative or othermaterial. Other systems of leverage may b employed and their use iscontemplated although it is quite clear all such systems cannot and neednot be illustrated in this particular case. The design of the punch asherein shown is based upon a frame member produced by casting. That isnot at all necessary, and that frame member may be built up from aseries of separate elements which may be cast, or it may be fabricatedfrom separate parts of pressed steel or other material.

In operation, it is to be assumed that the negatives to be registeredhave been produced by some one of the known methods and that in thatprocess, registering marks or indicia have been photographed orotherwise caused to appear as a permanent part of or addition to theimage on each negative. Those marks, of course, bear the identicalrelationship to the photographic image on each negative as they do oneach of the other negatives. In Fig. 5 a negative N is illustratedhaving thereon a photographic image, and in the above-mentioned relationthereto, a series of registering marks in the form of crosses. Thisparticular negative has been perforated, the perforations being made atthe second one of a series of four crosses at either end.

Now referring to Fig. 6, which is in effect an enlarged view of thecorner of negative N, the series of four crosses is shown prior toperforation. The crosses vary in the weight of line of which they areconstituted, that at the left hand side being made from a relativelyfine line and, of course, each cross being slightly heavier proceedingtoward the heaviest at the extreme right. The original crosses or marksphotographed on the negative are thus formed so as to present indicia ofwhich the photographer may choose that best suited to his purpose and tothe magnifying power of the instrument. This variation in the weight ofline employed in the marks photographed makes it more likely that, nomatter what the exposure or development for that particular negativemaybe, one of the marks will eventually be found suitable for itsintended purpose.

As herein shown, the second of each series of marks has been perforated.The distance between the series of marks is standardized in so far aspossible, and, of course, that distance corresponds to the spacing ofthe locating pins on the printing frame or other printing means uponwhich each of these color separation negatives is eventually to beprinted by application of its own particular color of light. The punchis of circular cross section, and accordingly, provision must be madefor slight inaccuracies in the spacing of both the perforated holes andof the pins on the printing means. For that purpose one of the pins onthe printing means should be of a type rendering it adjustablerelatively to the other and. therefore, making it unnecessary to resortto more than ordinary accuracy in the placing of the series of markswhich are to be photographed. Of course, once they have been positioned,the relationship which they bear to the image being photographed shouldnot be changed for that particular set or series.

After it is decided which of the series of registering marksis bestadapted to use, the margin of the negative is inserted so that that markwill come in a position more or less central with the opening l8. Theoperator may employ light from beneath the opening l8 or generalillumination within the room may be sufficient. Upon observing the markon the negative beneath the cross hair lines on the glass 30, thenegative is moved about until those lines coincide exactly. A slightpressure on the lever 3i! will first move the tube 20 downwardly, andsince spring 33 is stronger thanspring I! the clamping member I! will belowered into contact with the negative. It will then be held in positionand upon further movement of the operating lever, the tube and die maybe moved downwardly compressing spring 33 until the die has sheared outof the negative a circular opening corresponding to the internaldiameter of opening l8. That is then repeated at the opposite side ofthe negative and also for the other negatives of that series. Thepaper'upon which the print is to be made is punchediat appropriatepoints, either by use of the instrument herein described or by any othermeans adapted to perforate it with holes of the a same diameter. Theprecise location of the holes in the paper is not important except forthe distance between them.

While one method of lighting the negative during placement of the sameprior to clamping and perforating is by projecting a light up throughthe opening it, the instrument may be con-- structed with a lightarranged internally of the tube 20 and adapted to have its raysprojected downwardly through the lens 25. Such an illuminating means maybe provided with an incandescent lamp. connected by suitable wiring toan electrical outlet. According to another form of the invention,illumination may be furnished by a built-in light unit comprising asmall flash lamp type battery and bulb such as are to be frequentlyfound in certain types of microscopes or other magnifying devices.

While one embodiment of .the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number ofways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precisedetails described but is intended to cover all variations andmodifications thereof following within the spirit of the invention andthe scope of the claims.

I claim: a

l. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination means for clamping a negative in place, meansfor perforating the clamped negative, and optical, magnifying means inaxial co-alignment with said perforating means having reference in-'dicia therein with which to register indicia on the negative, thereby toposition the negative for punching, said magnifying means andperforating means being movable as a unit for performing the perforatingfunction.

2. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a base, a clamping member between which and thebase a negative may be held, a die opening in the base, a punch movableinto said die opening, said punch being tubular and having in axialco-alignment therewith optical, magnifying means and indicating marlmfor alignment with indicia on negatives to be registered, said punch andoptical, magnifying means being movable as a unit for performing theperforating function.

3. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a base, a support extending upwardly from saidbase, a clamping plate hinged to said support and a tubular membervertically slidable within said support, said tubular member having atits lower end a die engageable and cooperating with a die opening insaid base and also carrying an optical, magnifying means, an operatinglever for moving said tube and die downwardly and spring means andcooperating with a die opening in the base,

a clearance hole in said clamping member through which the die projects,spring means for maintaining said clamping member in elevated positionand other spring means for maintaining said tube and die in raisedposition, a lever by which said tube may be forced downwardly thereby tocause the die to enter the die opening, optical means disposed withinsaid tube including magnifying means and a transparent window havingregistering marks scribed on a surface thereof.

5. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a base, an upright member extending from saidbase and comprising a handle and a tube guiding portion, clamping meansunderlying said base, a die and an extending tube for carrying said die,said tube being slidable within said guiding por: tion, operating meansassociated with said handle for forcing said tube and die downwardly, adie opening in said base within which said die is adapted to projectwhen moved downwardly, and

window, and magnifying means including a low powered microscope systemand an eye piece.

6. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a base, an upwardly extending support havingas' parts thereof a handle and a cylindrical, guiding portion, aclamping member pivoted adjacent said upwardly extending support andspring means by which said clamping member is normally maintained inelevated position, a tube slidable vertically within said cylindrical,guiding portion of the vertical support, said tube having connected atits lower end a die, a die opening within said base and within whichsaid die is adapted to engage, a clearance opening in said clampingmember through which said die projects, an operating lever pivoted atsaid handle and having forked extensions engageable with a collaradjacent the upper end of said tube, optical means for viewing marks ona negative to be punched, including a convergent achromatic lens at thelower end of the tube, a sleeve adjustable within the upper end of thetube carrying an eye piece at its outer end, piano-convex lenses and aplane glass window with cross hair lines thereon mounted within thesleeve. and a spring between said clamping member and die, the strengthof said spring and that spring for elevating the clamping member beingsuch that upon downward movement of the tube and die, the clampingmember will first move into clamping relationship with respect to thebase and thereafter said tube and die will continue to move until saiddle has entered the die opening.

7. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a supporting frame having as one part thereof adie opening, a member movable as a unit and carrying a die forengagement with said opening and in axial co-alignment therewith, andoptical magnifying means for viewing that part of a negative to beperforated.

8. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a base, an upwardly extending support having asparts thereof a handle and a cylindrical, guiding portion, a clampingmember pivoted adjacent said upwardly extending support and acompression spring retained within said member and base by which saidclamping member is normally maintained in elevated position, a tubeslidable vertically within said cylindrical, guiding portion of thevertical support, said tube having connected at its lower end anextension, said extension being formed as a die at itslowermostextremity, and being hollow and recessed adjacent that end employed as adie, operating means includin a lever pivoted at said handle and forkedto engage at either side of and above a collar fixed to said tube,optical magnifying means contained within said tube and comprising a.positive lens and an eye piece, a spring between said clamping memberand the extension having suflicient tension to overcome the resist,-ance offered by the compression spring retained within the base andclamping member, but permitting downward movement of the die after theclamping member has reached its extent of travel. 9. A punch for use inregistering negatives for photographic printing including in combinationa member having therein a die opening, a tube axially aligning with saiddie opening, a die carried by and movable with the tube, opticalmagnifying means housed within the tube, means for resilientlymaintaining said tube in a position to withdraw the die from the openingand other means to move it against the tension of said resilient means.

10. A punch for use in registering negatives for photographic printingincluding in combination a. base, a pivotedclamp member, a die openingin said base, a tube axially aligning with said die opening, a diecarried by and movable with the tube, optical magnifying means housedwithin the tube, means for resiliently maintaining said tube in aposition to withdraw the die from the opening and other means to move itagainst the tension of said resilient means.

11. A punch of the type described which includes in combination meansfor clamping material to be perforated, means for perforating saidmaterial, and optical, magnifying means in axial co-alignment with saidperforating means, having reference indicia with which to registerindicia on the material to be perforated, thereby to position it, saidmagnifying means and perforating means being axially movable as a unitfor performing the perforating function.

12. A punch of the type described which includes in combination a. base,a clamping member, a die openin in said base, a tube axially aligningwith said die opening, a die carried by and movable with the tube,optical magnifying means within the tube, means for resilientlymaintaining said tube in a position to withdraw the die from the openingand other means to move it against the tension of said resilient means.

' RICHARD M. HAFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

'UNITED STATES PATENTS

